Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

For many years now we have thought that high levels of HDL or the good cholesterol were indicative of a healthy lipids profile or blood test. Well, it seems that researchers have uncovered yet another mystery.

Researchers from the University of Chicago challenge the conventional wisdom that simply having high levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and low levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) is necessary for good heath. A study published in the December 2008 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that you may want to rethink this notion.

Good cholesterol has varying degrees of quality and that poor quality HDL is actually bad for you. Dr.  Angelo Scanu, a pioneer in blood lipid chemistry from University of Chicago points out, “It is now apparent that subjects with high HDL are not necessarily protected from heart problems and should ask their doctor to find out whether their HDL is good or bad.”

The researchers came to this conclusion after reviewing published research on this subject. They found that the HDL from people with chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, and diabetes is different from the HDL in healthy individuals, even when blood levels of HDL are comparable. They observed that normal, “good,” HDL reduces inflammation, while the dysfunctional, “bad,” HDL does not.

A handwriting expert from Wiltshire, England asked 61 heart patients from Pool Hospital in Swindon to provide handwriting samples for her, then compared these to samples provided by people without any cardiovascular disease.
“I’ve found one particular movement in the writing, although I actually believe there’s far more than just the one link, and my research is going to be continuing, looking to see if I can find those other links as well,” said Christina Strang (the Graphologist).
She asked each person to write down 100 words about a holiday or something, but she only analyzed the last 30 words because this is when they are relaxed and write naturally.
Strang discovered that handwriting samples from heart patients contained twice as many “resting dots,” produced when the pen pauses on a piece of paper for mere milliseconds, as the samples from healthy people.

“These resting dots can be because the heart misses a beat or a sudden pain,” Strang hypothesized.
Strang also hopes to see whether the same signs can also be used to detect the early stages of other chronic conditions, such as diabetes and arthritis.
It’s amazing how many different ways people are using as tools to help identify heart disease. Is this possible?

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a synthetic form of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or the “good” cholesterol, which they hope will lead to a clinically useful treatment for the prevention of heart attacks and strokes.
They used nanotechnology to manipulate matter at the molecular level. The synthetic HDL is composed of a tiny core of gold surrounded by fat molecules with an outer layer of the HDL protein ApoA-1.
The resultant HDL particles are similar in size and structure to naturally occurring HDL. The synthesized compound was designed to help prevent the buildup of plaque in the arteries.
The researchers report that studies show that the man-made nanoparticles bind to cholesterol. This suggests that they will act as a sponge in the body to soak up the bad cholesterol (LDL particles) that causes the formation of artery-clogging plaque.
This research effort is nothing but impressive. Instead of using pharmaceuticals to control blood cholesterol levels, a heart doctor would have a more direct, less harmful, and probably more heart friendly approach to deal with high cholesterol.

I have not made it a habit of bad mouthing medications, but sometimes it gets to be too much. On the Orlando Sentinel blog I found an article: ‘Low Cholesterol Linked to Cancer Risk’ http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_healthblog/2007/07/low-cholesetrol.html .
The reporter quotes lines from Reuters: ‘ Lowering cholesterol as much as possible may reduce the risk of heart disease, but with a price: taking it too low could raise the risk of cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
Patients who took statin drugs to lower their cholesterol had a slightly higher risk of cancer, although the study did not show that the statin drugs themselves caused the cancer.’
Statin drugs are used by many to lower their blood cholesterol levels. And I’m sure that is all beneficial to them, but what peeves me is that doctors are treating the symptoms and not curing the disease.
Is it possible that taking statins could cause cancer? We still don’t know. But one thing I can state for sure is that eating natural foods will not cause cancer.
On this blog I try to show how eating natural foods can lower your cholesterol. Admittedly, this approach may have limited effectiveness on people who have abused their cardiovascular system to a point where their cholesterol levels are astronomical. At that point their only option might be a physician and prescribed medication(s). But after surviving that many can get ‘heart healthy’ by following a natural foods diet and exercising. For example: many ex heart attack patients have run marathons.
For most of us eating natural foods will prevent our arteries from accumulating plaque and promote a healthy metabolism. Couple this with regular exercise and you have a healthy prescription for your heart and you can forget about taking a prescribed medication that might cause cancer.

It is interesting to note that our notions of ‘bad cholesterol’ and ‘good cholesterol’ are being challenged. A post on the BioJobBlog http://www.biojobblog.com/2008/01/articles/ideas-and-indulgences/unraveling-the-cholesterol-conundrum/ outlines this controversy.
It all started in January 2008 when Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals released results from the ENHANCE trial, which found that the ezetimibe/simvastatin (Zetia/Zocor) combination drug known as Vytorin was no more effective in reducing artery plaque build-up than simvastatin (Zocor) alone.  There were no statistically significant differences in the safety of the drugs, which are used to lower cholesterol.  The combination drug did lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL – “bad” cholesterol) significantly more than the single agent, but it did not reduce the amount of arterial plaque build-up in the carotid (neck) arteries.  However, the LDL levels in both groups remained well above target level.
These results have caused some scientists to question whether LDL cholesterol (termed the bad cholesterol ) is really the culprit that we have made it to be.
LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein and is made in the liver. Cholesterol is a waxy-fatty substance which cannot be transported in the blood stream in its natural state. So the liver wraps it in a protein sheath for easy transport in the bloodstream and off it goes to cells that might need it.
Scientists are questioning whether cholesterol is as harmful a substance as it has been touted to be for so many years. Perhaps there is some other fatty substance wrapped in with each LDL particle that plays a larger role in developing plaques and consequent heart attacks.
The jury is still out on these notions of good and bad cholesterol. May be after further research and study we will arrive at a better understanding of LDL cholesterol and its part in heart disease.

I’ve written about dark chocolate and its benefits to the heart, but I’ve never been able to ascertain the daily dosage. From Italy comes a study that suggests that 6.7 grams or about one-quarter of an ounce daily is sufficient.
Researchers at the University or Campobasso in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute of Milan enrolled 20,000 inhabitants of the Molise region for the study. They found that people having moderate amounts of dark chocolate regularly have significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein in their blood — a biomarker for inflammation.
They report that, “The 17 percent average reduction observed may appear quite small, but it is enough to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease for one-third in women and one-fourth in men.”
The best effect is obtained by consuming an average amount of 6.7 grams of chocolate per day, corresponding to a small square of chocolate twice or three times a week, but beyond these amounts the beneficial effect tends to disappear.
So only a very small amount of dark chocolate daily will lower the risk of heart disease considerably.

It’s becoming apparent that brushing your teeth may protect you from more than just cavities – it can also cut your risk of a heart disease, a new study reports. In London an international team has found that the body’s own defenses could overreact to the threat of gum disease and destroy its own protective cells, which leads to the buildup in the arteries called atherosclerosis the prime cause of heart attacks.
In recent years chronic infections have been associated with the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Gum disease is one of the most common infections in humans and there are now over 50 studies linking gum disease with heart disease and stroke.
Professor Greg Seymour from New Zealand points out that a number of theories have been put forward to explain the link between oral infection and heart disease. One of these is that certain proteins from bacteria initiate atherosclerosis and help it progress. His group looked at the role of ‘heat shock proteins’.
Heat shock proteins are produced by bacteria as well as animals and plants. They are produced after cells are exposed to different kinds of stress conditions, such as inflammation, toxins, starvation and oxygen and water deprivation. Because of this, heat shock proteins are also referred to as stress proteins. They can work as chaperone molecules, stabilizing other proteins, helping to fold them and transport them across cell membranes. Some also bind to foreign antigens and present them to immune cells.
Because heat shock proteins are produced by humans as well as bacteria, the immune system may not be able to differentiate between those from the body and those from invading pathogens and here lies the rub. This can lead the immune system to launch an attack on its own proteins. “When this happens, white blood cells can build up in the tissues of the arteries, causing atherosclerosis,” Professor Seymour reports.
He found white blood cells called T cells in the lesions of arteries in patients affected by atherosclerosis. These T cells were able to bind to host heat shock proteins as well as those from bacteria that cause gum disease. This suggests that the similarity between the proteins could be the link between oral infection and atherosclerosis.
Our knowledge of heart disease continues to increase. This represents another major step forward.

The CDC reports that cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one killer – in 2005 over 900,000 lives were lost that’s 2,400 deaths a day.  That’s more lives than cancer, HIV/AIDS, and accidents combined!

They also point out that eighty million Americans (nearly 1 in 3 people in this country) have not just one but several types of cardiovascular disease, which includes hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and diabetes. Typical red flags for these patients may include obesity, tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity, and alcohol abuse.

Complications of CVDs contribute to more than 80 million doctor visits a year and 6 million hospitalizations keeping medical professionals busier than ever. Additionally, physicians, in order to effectively treat patients are charged with keeping up on all the new information on the latest clinical trials, advances in treatment, and of course practice guidelines, which are often being updated.

I have often pointed out that we do know how to prevent CVD – medical science has learned a great deal about heart disease and cholesterol and its links, yet our nation still suffers from the same ailment. The solution is simple – proper nutrition and exercise can bring about an end to this madness.

It’s estimated that only 10% of us inherit cardiovascular disease. That means that the other 90% give it to themselves. They eat the wrong foods and they fail to exercise regularly.

To lower your risk of heart disease here are 5 things you can do:

Stop Smoking
Keep your cholesterol levels within the proper ranges
Work to avoid diabetes
Control your blood pressure
Work to avoid obesity

Most of these points can be attained by following a diet rich in natural foods, avoiding fatty fast foods and soda pop, not overeating, and exercising regularly.

It’s even more important that you follow the above suggestions if you have acquired heart disease from genetics.

Research shows that fewer than 3 percent of American 15-year olds get some exercise most days. This is a terrible statistic. If this inactivity is continued into adulthood – well the results could be advanced heart disease at an early age.
Last week I wrote about 8-year olds starting on statin drugs. Now a study out of Chicago shows that 15-year olds get very little exercise. The average 8-year old got 3 hours a day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, whereas the average 15-year old got one hour.
I know I keep writing about this, but our society has to start eating right and exercising.